Locker Room

A woman in the locker room with me said she thought everyone should just get covid and get it over with.

SILENCE

But people would die, I finally said. My neighbor died of it.

Everyone dies. They die from being overweight, from these other things that are totally preventable. They bring it on themselves, she said.

My jaw was on the floor. She's in healthcare. What is she, nurse Ratched?

I was in the shower stall reaching out to grab my purple towel hanging on the hook. I was glad she couldn't see my face. When I grabbed my jeans from the hook on the wall, she was dressing in front of the mirror admiring her empty bones. I went back into the shower stall for privacy.

Are you going to get the shot? she asked.

Yes, I said.

Are you? I got mine.

How did it go?

I had a fever and red swelling on my arm. I peeked my head out and she displayed her red shoulder. Better than the disease, I said.

Famine makes you stronger she said. Fasting is good for you. Americans snack all the time and have inflammation.

I'm wondering what the hell she's talking about but then I realize this is her justification for not eating. Wow I feel like I am listening to a NAZI prison guard.

I am relieved when she leaves. I was so shaken that I didn't realize until my walk home that I'd forgotten to shampoo my hair and drink my water.